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Right to health and criminalization of same-sex conduct and sexual orientation, sex-work and HIV transmission 2010, para. 34
- Paragraph text
- Globally, there have been periods where sex work has been highly regulated or decriminalized, generally to manage certain aspects of sex work or to achieve control of disease, particularly within the military. However, prohibitions against sex work are regarded as "notoriously difficult to enforce" and of questionable utility where enforcement is accompanied by extortion and brutality. In recent times, significant opposition has arisen to the imposition of criminal sanctions against sex workers, and certain nations have amended laws to decriminalize sex work.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- All
- Year
- 2010
- Date modified
- Sep 22, 2021
Paragraph
Right to health and criminalization of same-sex conduct and sexual orientation, sex-work and HIV transmission 2010, para. 39
- Paragraph text
- Stigmatization has been cited as the major factor preventing sex workers from accessing their rights. Laws criminalizing or onerously regulating sex work compound the stigmatization experienced by sex workers, adversely affecting health outcomes, often without justification on the grounds of public health. The Geschlechtskrankheitengesetz, a law in Germany designed to combat venereal disease, required prostitutes to undergo mandatory medical examinations. This law legally stigmatized sex workers as being almost solely responsible for the spread of venereal disease, despite the absence of epidemiological studies to support this. The law has since been amended to provide for voluntary, anonymous testing.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- All
- Year
- 2010
- Date modified
- Sep 22, 2021
Paragraph
Right to health and criminalization of same-sex conduct and sexual orientation, sex-work and HIV transmission 2010, para. 44
- Paragraph text
- Moreover, the criminalization of practices related to sex work can create barriers to the realization of safe working conditions. For instance, where laws exist prohibiting the running of a brothel, those who invariably subvert the law and run such a business can impose unsafe working conditions without difficulty, as sex workers themselves have no recourse to legal mechanisms through which they can demand safer working conditions. Where criminalization in any form exists, the protection offered by a brothel or a manager may become increasingly desirable or necessary, but this also comes at a price: fiscally, through the opportunities created for extortion, and in terms of health.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- All
- Year
- 2010
- Date modified
- Sep 22, 2021
Paragraph
Right to health and criminalization of same-sex conduct and sexual orientation, sex-work and HIV transmission 2010, para. 35
- Paragraph text
- For example, New Zealand decriminalized sex work in 2003, with the express aim of safeguarding the human rights of sex workers. Prior to decriminalization, sex workers were less willing to disclose their occupation to health workers or to carry condoms. Since decriminalization, sex workers have reported feeling that they have enforceable rights, including the rights to health and security of person, and are increasingly able to refuse particular clients and practices, and negotiate safer sex.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- All
- Year
- 2010
- Date modified
- Sep 22, 2021
Paragraph
Right to health and criminalization of same-sex conduct and sexual orientation, sex-work and HIV transmission 2010, para. 37
- Paragraph text
- The use of punitive measures against sex workers, such as antisocial behaviour orders in the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, has undermined effective health promotion activities. Raids, cautions and arrests generally result in a shift of the sex worker population, often towards unsafe areas, putting sex workers at higher risk. Criminalization has also been noted to diminish the "bargaining power" of sex workers in choosing clients and negotiating condom use.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Health
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- All
- Year
- 2010
- Date modified
- Sep 22, 2021
Paragraph
Right to health and criminalization of same-sex conduct and sexual orientation, sex-work and HIV transmission 2010, para. 47
- Paragraph text
- Criminalization represents a barrier to participation and collective action, through the suppression of activities of civil society and individual advocates. The participation of sex workers in interventions has been shown to have significant benefits. Organizations representing sex workers took an early lead in attempting to slow the spread of HIV/AIDS, through the promotion of condom use, the development of AIDS education programmes and inclusive research studies.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- All
- Year
- 2010
- Date modified
- Sep 22, 2021
Paragraph
Right to health and criminalization of same-sex conduct and sexual orientation, sex-work and HIV transmission 2010, para. 50
- Paragraph text
- Decriminalization also assists in appropriately targeting these health promotion projects, as sex workers are more likely to self-identify and voluntarily take part in interventions if the risk of legal repercussion is eliminated. Effective interventions around the health of sex workers and clients should also consider shared responsibility and client behaviour; this is increasingly possible in an environment where clients are not criminalized for using the services of sex workers.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- All
- Year
- 2010
- Date modified
- Sep 22, 2021
Paragraph
Right to health and criminalization of same-sex conduct and sexual orientation, sex-work and HIV transmission 2010, para. 76b
- Paragraph text
- [The Special Rapporteur calls upon States:] To repeal all laws criminalizing sex work and practices around it, and to establish appropriate regulatory frameworks within which sex workers can enjoy the safe working conditions to which they are entitled. He recommends that States implement programmes and educational initiatives to allow sex workers access to appropriate, quality health services;
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- All
- Year
- 2010
- Date modified
- Sep 22, 2021
Paragraph
Right to health and criminalization of same-sex conduct and sexual orientation, sex-work and HIV transmission 2010, para. 36
- Paragraph text
- Criminalization represents a barrier to accessing services, establishing therapeutic relationships and continuing treatment regimes, leading to poorer health outcomes for sex workers, as they may fear legal consequences or harassment and judgement. This is particularly concerning given that HIV has been noted to disproportionately affect sex workers in many regions.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- All
- Year
- 2010
- Date modified
- Sep 22, 2021
Paragraph
Right to health and criminalization of same-sex conduct and sexual orientation, sex-work and HIV transmission 2010, para. 40
- Paragraph text
- In China, laws have evolved to allow for the punishment of sex workers through administrative detention; workers are detained for the purposes of re-education, which causes significant psychological suffering, along with stigmatization and shaming of those involved in sex work in the region.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- All
- Year
- 2010
- Date modified
- Sep 22, 2021
Paragraph
Debt bondage as a key form of contemporary slavery 2016, para. B.
- Paragraph text
- [Recommendations to Member States:] Put in place comprehensive programmes that allow identified bonded labourers to be able to access the support that they need to fulfil their right to rehabilitation.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on contemporary forms of slavery, including its causes and consequences
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Person(s) affected
- All
- Year
- 2016
- Date modified
- Sep 21, 2020
Paragraph
Taxation and human rightss 2014, para. 39
- Paragraph text
- Moreover, when revenue is used to finance public services, it creates conditions propitious to growth and employment in formal sectors of the economy, guaranteeing both equality of access and equality of opportunities. Public services also mitigate the impact of skewed income distribution and directly contribute to reducing inequality.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Person(s) affected
- All
- N.A.
- Year
- 2014
- Date modified
- Sep 21, 2020
Paragraph
The right to mental health 2017, para. 89
- Paragraph text
- There are already promising initiatives in place throughout the world, including in low- and middle-income countries, which challenge the status quo. Creating the space, through strong political leadership and resources, to enable those practices to take shape in communities is a powerful means to promote and advance the changes needed.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Person(s) affected
- All
- N.A.
- Year
- 2017
- Date modified
- Sep 21, 2020
Paragraph
Regional and subregional cooperation in promoting a human rights-based approach to combatting trafficking in persons 2010, para. 122
- Paragraph text
- [Regional mechanisms should carry out the activities set out in the following paragraphs, which have a specific added value:] Conduct studies and develop recommendations on how to address the challenges posed by the increasing use of communications technologies such as the Internet to channel demand and recruit victims.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on trafficking in persons, especially in women and children
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Person(s) affected
- All
- N.A.
- Year
- 2010
- Date modified
- Sep 21, 2020
Paragraph
Challenges and lessons in combating contemporary forms of slavery 2013, para. 88d
- Paragraph text
- [Governments should also ensure that other institutions and stakeholders are appropriately resourced and trained to detect, report and prosecute cases, including by providing:] Providing victims with free legal assistance, compensation, social protection, and long-term strategies for community and labour-market reintegration, including vocational training and job placement services.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on contemporary forms of slavery, including its causes and consequences
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Person(s) affected
- All
- Year
- 2013
- Date modified
- Sep 21, 2020
Paragraph
Unpaid care work and women's human rights 2013, para. 37
- Paragraph text
- Also relevant - given that unpaid caregivers are disproportionately represented in informal jobs - are State obligations to reduce to the fullest extent possible the number of workers outside the formal economy, apply labour legislation to all workers, and ensure that domestic and agricultural work is properly regulated so that domestic and agricultural workers enjoy the same level of protection as other workers.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Person(s) affected
- All
- Year
- 2013
- Date modified
- Sep 21, 2020
Paragraph
Protection of minority rights in conflict prevention 2010, para. 57
- Paragraph text
- Equal access for all communities to employment in public services can become a highly contentious issue, especially in countries where such jobs form a large proportion of the available labour market. In countries where political power is seen to be concentrated in the hands of one or a few identity groups, it is common for those groups to be disproportionately represented in the public service, which can be a powerful source of tension.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on minority issues
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Person(s) affected
- All
- N.A.
- Year
- 2010
- Date modified
- Sep 21, 2020
Paragraph
Report of the SR on the right to health and Agenda 2030 2016, para. 54
- Paragraph text
- Prioritizing the most vulnerable requires acknowledging that many populations are invisible through traditional data collection methods either because they are excluded from civil registration or because they face other barriers, such as being homeless or criminalized, and never come into contact with official statistical processes. Qualitative data collection methods are a practical and powerful complement to traditional quantitative methods.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Person(s) affected
- All
- Year
- 2016
- Date modified
- Sep 21, 2020
Paragraph
Strengthening voluntary standards for businesses on preventing and combating trafficking in persons and labour exploitation, especially in supply chains 2017, para. 91
- Paragraph text
- Companies should review and modify purchasing practices that could have a negative impact on the workplace conditions of their suppliers, including the setting of delivery deadlines that will expose workers to non-voluntary overtime or force suppliers to hire workers for peak periods under worse working conditions or through employment agencies.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on trafficking in persons, especially in women and children
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Person(s) affected
- All
- N.A.
- Year
- 2017
- Date modified
- Sep 21, 2020
Paragraph
Strengthening voluntary standards for businesses on preventing and combating trafficking in persons and labour exploitation, especially in supply chains 2017, para. 66g
- Paragraph text
- [Criteria and indicators should be strengthened in accordance with the benchmarks and indicators for ensuring trafficking-free supply chains proposed by the Special Rapporteur (A/HRC/23/48/Add.4, appendix I) and should include at a minimum the following indicators:] Workers are paid in legal tender and provided written, itemized pay slips or receipts in a language they understand, indicating wage rates, hours worked, total pay and any legally authorized deductions made by the employer;
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on trafficking in persons, especially in women and children
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Person(s) affected
- All
- Year
- 2017
- Date modified
- Sep 21, 2020
Paragraph
Debt bondage as a key form of contemporary slavery 2016, para. 6
- Paragraph text
- People enter the status or condition of debt bondage when their labour, or the labour of a third party under their control, is demanded as repayment of a loan or of money given in advance, and the value of their labour is not applied towards the liquidation of the debt or the length of the service is not limited and/or the nature of the service is not defined. Consequently, bonded labourers are often trapped into working for very little remuneration, or in some cases none, to repay the loan or advance, even though the value of their labour exceeds that sum of money.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on contemporary forms of slavery, including its causes and consequences
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Person(s) affected
- All
- N.A.
- Year
- 2016
- Date modified
- Sep 21, 2020
Paragraph
Manifestations and causes of domestic servitude 2010, para. 75
- Paragraph text
- Many States do not afford domestic workers the equal protection of labour law, which invites exploitation, leading, in extreme cases, to domestic servitude. In a number of States, domestic work is excluded from the scope of application of relevant labour laws. At best, parallel regimes are set up that provide lesser standards of protection. It is very common to exclude domestic workers from essential social benefits such as health care, compensation in case of invalidity, pensions or maternity leave and labour rights such as paid vacations, rest days or maximum work hours.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on contemporary forms of slavery, including its causes and consequences
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Person(s) affected
- All
- Year
- 2010
- Date modified
- Sep 21, 2020
Paragraph
Preventing and addressing violence and atrocities against minorities 2014, para. 69
- Paragraph text
- The creation of community or neighbourhood watch and early warning mechanisms that enable at-risk communities to identify threats and quickly contact law enforcement authorities is another measure that has been put in place, including in Nigeria where violence and intercommunal tensions have been present. Having local "eyes and ears" to report potential incidents offers valuable, community-based, early warning potential, although it remains reliant on a rapid response by law enforcement bodies to alerts if it is to be effective.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on minority issues
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Person(s) affected
- All
- N.A.
- Year
- 2014
- Date modified
- Sep 21, 2020
Paragraph
The implications of States’ surveillance of communications on the exercise of the human rights to privacy and to freedom of opinion and expression 2013, para. 44
- Paragraph text
- Advances in technology have not only facilitated interception of and access to communications in specific cases, but have also enabled States to conduct widespread, even nationwide, filtering of online activity. In many countries, Internet filtering is conducted under the guise of maintaining social harmony or eradicating hate speech, but is in fact used to eradicate dissent, criticism or activism.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of the right to freedom of opinion and expression
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Person(s) affected
- All
- Year
- 2013
- Date modified
- Sep 21, 2020
Paragraph
Integration of a human rights-based approach in measures to discourage the demand that fosters all forms of exploitation of persons, especially women and children, and which leads to human trafficking 2013, para. 67
- Paragraph text
- Even businesses which invest significant amounts in checking their supply chains suffer from the fact that there is no internationally recognized standard for the process of checking whether minimum labour standards and human rights standards are respected in the workplace. It is challenging for other businesses and individual consumers to assess whether the cheap cost of a product was due to good business management or due to abuse in the production process. It is the responsibility of the State (in addition to being the responsibility of employers, business owners and investors) to ensure that keeping production costs and wage bills to a minimum is not achieved by illegal or abusive means.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on trafficking in persons, especially in women and children
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Person(s) affected
- All
- Year
- 2013
- Date modified
- Sep 21, 2020
Paragraph
Commissions of inquiry 2012, para. 68
- Paragraph text
- The purposes of a commission of inquiry warrant a more flexible approach to rules of evidence, including the credibility of witness testimony. In assessing the credibility of evidence, a commission of inquiry should give special weight to corroborated testimony and to testimony subjected to cross-examination. A commission should also apply general rules in their assessment of the credibility of witnesses, including demeanour, subject to cultural and gender sensitivities. A commission should always accept testimony that is not subject to cross-examination, and should also avail itself of testimony that, if rendered in court, would be excludable as hearsay.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Person(s) affected
- All
- N.A.
- Year
- 2012
- Date modified
- Sep 21, 2020
Paragraph
Solitary confinement 2011, para. 26
- Paragraph text
- Solitary confinement is also known as "segregation", "isolation", "separation", "cellular", "lockdown", "Supermax", "the hole" or "Secure Housing Unit (SHU)", but all these terms can involve different factors. For the purposes of this report, the Special Rapporteur defines solitary confinement as the physical and social isolation of individuals who are confined to their cells for 22 to 24 hours a day. Of particular concern to the Special Rapporteur is prolonged solitary confinement, which he defines as any period of solitary confinement in excess of 15 days. He is aware of the arbitrary nature of the effort to establish a moment in time which an already harmful regime becomes prolonged and therefore unacceptably painful. He concludes that 15 days is the limit between "solitary confinement" and "prolonged solitary confinement" because at that point, according to the literature surveyed, some of the harmful psychological effects of isolation can become irreversible.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Person(s) affected
- All
- Year
- 2011
- Date modified
- Sep 21, 2020
Paragraph
Challenges and lessons in combating contemporary forms of slavery 2013, para. 16
- Paragraph text
- In Nepal, a debt bondage system, the labourers of which are known as Haliyas, can be found in the agricultural sector. Haliya means "one who ploughs". Ploughing land is considered to be dirty and unskilled work that only lower-class citizens should perform, making it the work of "untouchables" or Dalits. Haliyas are either paid very little for their work or paid only in small amounts of food. Debt quickly accrues as workers take out loans for personal expenses, while landowners take advantage of them by charging exorbitant interest rates. According to a Centre for Human Rights and Global Justice report, "such discrimination is intentionally designed to keep alive a system of debt bondage".
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on contemporary forms of slavery, including its causes and consequences
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Person(s) affected
- All
- Year
- 2013
- Date modified
- Sep 21, 2020
Paragraph
Post conflict and post disaster reconstruction and the right to adequate housing 2011, para. 67
- Paragraph text
- In post-conflict and post-disaster situations mechanisms should be put in place to monitor violations of the right to adequate housing, including forced evictions. Victims of such violations should be entitled to legal remedies and have access to justice.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on adequate housing as a component of the right to an adequate standard of living
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Person(s) affected
- All
- Year
- 2011
- Date modified
- Sep 21, 2020
Paragraph
Marginality of economic and social rights 2016, para. 48
- Paragraph text
- Fifth, the implementation of positive judicial outcomes and the search for more creative remedies have been "an analytical and practical blind spot".
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Person(s) affected
- All
- Year
- 2016
- Date modified
- Sep 21, 2020
Paragraph